Texas Probate Legal Questions

It is best to go over the assets of your estate, including the insurance policy, with an attorney to plan how to get the property correctly titled in your name.  With real estate (real property) and other assets like insurance (personal property), there can be different ways to get the asset properly titled. Each asset and case is unique and dependent on the facts. ... Read More

If you are not the beneficiary, you lack standing to address this matter.  Your brother-in-law's personal representative has standing to compel the life insurance company to disclose who the beneficiary is.  You should consider contacting him and offer to pay him out of your pocket to conduct that discovery.  He probably is not pursuing that information to avoid wasting assets of your brother-in-law's estate merely to learn who the beneficiary is.  ... Read More

Hello, Thankfully the process to claim excess funds is fairly simple. All you have to do is prove that you and your sister were the rightful owners or heirs to your father's Estate (which it sounds like you've done since you are Administrators of his Estate), and file a Petition with the Court. The Petition should include the legal description of the property (as much as possible), that you and your sisters were the previous owners/heirs of your father's Estate, that all delinquent taxes, interest, etc. were paid (which they almost certainly were since the it was a county sale for delinquent taxes), and how much each of you should get from the excess funds. You should be able to use the template at the following link as a good base, but obviously you will have to change and/or verify that all of it is accurate: https://co.jefferson.tx.us/dclerk/MOTION_TO_RELEASE_EXCESS_PROCEEDS_FORM.pdf. A lawyer can help you determine if everything is correct if you are uncertain, but in many cases it's a straightforward and simple process to get the excess funds released with a 5-10min hearing. Best,James M. RingelAttorney at Law... Read More

Hello, While the specifics will vary, the general answer is no, your spouse would not be entitled to any money you inherit. In Texas, inheritance is considered separate property and therefore your spouse has no rights to it. However, the big exception to this is if you "commingle" the funds. For example, if you inherit the money from your father, place it in your joint bank account, and both you and your spouse regularly put money into and pull money out of the account over several years, then it may be hard to prove exactly how much of that money is separate vs. community property. Therefore, the wisest thing to do to protect your inheritance would be to open a separate bank account for the inherited money and not mix any other funds into that account (your wages from work are generally considered community property in Texas, so definitely don't mix those funds in!). Anything else you inherit (such as land) would also be separate property, but if any community funds are used for it, then your spouse may have some claim for reimbursement if you get divorced.   All responses are NOT to be considered legal advice nor to be relied upon in any as such nor to establish any form of attorney/client relationship. Opinions expressed are solely informational and not a substitute for proper legal advice provided by a properly retained after thoroughly researching the issues presented.... Read More

Hello, The answer is that without a will, both her husband and her children will inherit portions of her estate. As long as your sister doesn't put her husband on the title to her property and no community funds are used for its maintenance or payments, then all of her children will equally inherit the property, but her husband will retain a 1/3 life estate in it. If it's deemed community property, then her husband will keep his half-ownership of the property and her children will inherit the other half of the property. Googling "Texas intestate succession chart" can give you and your sister a better idea of how her property will be inherited after her passing in a fairly easy to understand format. Obviously, there are a variety of factors that will determine how the property gets inherited, which is why it's important to speak with an attorney after she passes. Ideally, your sister should get a will made, even just a basic one, to ensure that her property goes where she wants it to go. Best regards, James M. Ringel... Read More

Whether or not your children have rights to their dad's property, would depend upon whether or not Dad had a will or not.  If he had a will and it was probated, my guess is that he probably left everything to his new wife.  If not, depending on the family tree, your children could be entitled to a share of the property.  Either way someone has to go to court (Probate Court) to have the heirs determined if there is no will.... Read More

Ownership of the property is still in the name of your grandfather based upon the facts you recited.  Even though your parent's paid the tax, the property was never theirs.  In addition, the property is not owned by you and your siblings or whoever are the heirs of your grandfather.  The only way to straighten this out is in Probate Court in the county in which your grandfather died.  It will be an heirship proceeding and likely to be complicated based upon your writing.... Read More

Let's get the terminology strait so you understand what you are dealing with.  An Enhanced Life Estate is normally associated with something called a Lady Bird Deed.  If your parents executed a Lady Bird Deed, then this is how it should have looked.  They deeded the entire property to you but reserved to themselves an Enhanced Life Estate, meaning they could live there and take care of the property, etc, until the survivor of them died.  When the survivor died, there was no more life estate and all ownership interests passed to you.  I would suggest you check with the county taxing authority to see if the deed was filed prior to their death.  If it was, then you now own the property.  You might have to show the death certificates to clear that up. If the deed was not filed before their death then it is too late to use it and you will have to go through a probate proceeding to clear title.  IF you are not their only heir, you may have issues.... Read More

If the children are all children of your marriage to your children, here is what happens   spouse inherits all community property, plus 1/3 of  separate personal property and the right to use  real estate (home) for life children inherit everything else So it depends if the property is community or separate... Read More

There are two different transactions here.  The TODD if properly done, transferred title to you upon the death of your brother.  HOWEVER, that deed has absolutely nothing to do with the debt on the property which the mortgage company holds.  If that debt has been paid off and the mortgage company is holding escrow funds, the only way to get that money since your brother did not have a will depends on the amount of money in escrow.  If under $75,000 then a SEA might (I repeat MIGHT).  There are varying results with this short cut method.  The only sure way is to file an application for a determination of heirship in the county in which your brother passed.  If you are his only heir, in othe words, no living parents and no other siblings, then at the end of the day, you would be declared the only heir and the mortgage company would or should take the court order as proof as you are entitled to the escrow.     I would point out in an abundance of caution, if the note of the property is not paid off, you should start paying it because the mortgage company doesn't care about the TODD.  They hold the first lien and will foreclose if not paid.   Hire a lawyer.,... Read More

Depending upon the amount of money in the account, there are several alternatives.  If the estate meets the requirements, a small estate affidavit and order might work.  It also will depend upon whether the bank will accept it or not.  The  4 siblings need a lawyer who is familiar with probate law to help them make a decision.... Read More

Depending on the county in which the proceeding would be located.  If you are in a county with statutory probate courts, in all likelihood you will be required to have a lawyer.  Smaller counties, not so much.   With statutory probate courts in larger counties, the rule is that in order to represent someone else in court, you need to have a law license.  Since probate proceedings create a separate entity.. The Estate of ..., a licensed lawyer has to represent that estate.... Read More